WALK OF LIFE I & II | 2015
The new works by the artists Thukral & Tagra explore the idea of “play” from a cultural, strategic, and psychological perspectives, with the title “Walk of life.” Thukral & Tagra continue to examine the relationship between art and play. Their recent show at Dr Bhau Daji Lad called “Games People Play” established the basis for this new versions of the project.
The Walk of Life game is built upon the ancient Indian game called Ganjifa, Originally played with a set of 120 cards, the artists have turned it into a board game that depicts Dashavatar, the ten earthly incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu. The avatars can also be considered as the evolution of mankind: from fish, to reptile, to mammal, to human, to deity.
Through the course of the game the players encounter various blessings and curses alongside making their own good or bad choices which account for their future in the game.
The game aims to impart the meaning of life to those who play it, in effect by paying off one’s ‘debts’ and equalizing one’s ‘scores,’ which are recorded on the card of Karma.
Walk of Life: Version 2
Khoj, New Delhi
The game is played in the kali yuga, the most evil and decadent of all yoga’s. Based on the idea of water conservation walk of life version 2 is a journey through the kali yuga dealing with real events of today’s time.
Water has been used to symbolize ‘life’ throughout. The game is based on 12 rounds of collective decision making between the players in order to conserve as much water in the finite collective reservoir as possible in order to win the game. The game is mirrored around today’s society and aims to impart knowledge about our limited resources of water and bringing about effective steps to save the world. It involves individual and collective decision-making replicating the way a community works. The narrative through the game, brought about through karma that are given to players in the form of cards based on chance is based on real life events and situations making it relatable for the players.